Frontiers news
19 Dec 2023
To live in an equitable world, disruption of the norm is necessary. As we close 2023, after a year of inspiring pieces from women all over the world, and as we reflect on the paths forged by these women and what they mean in the context of their exemplary fields, it is especially important to remember why we do it.
Frontiers news
16 Nov 2023
Author: Anna FarrallAnna Kramvis is professor emerita and director of the Hepatitis Virus Diversity Research Unit (HVDRU) at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and specialty chief editor for the Virology section of Frontiers in Microbiology. For the last 15 years, Anna has led the immense work being carried out at the HVDRU, breaking barriers as a woman in science and mentoring the next generation of scientists. In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and well-being, we discuss the progress of hepatitis B research and the challenges faced, including the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of funding, and low vaccination rates. Photo credit: Anna Kramvis Can you give a summary of the work being done at the Hepatitis Virus Diversity Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand? “Our work focuses on researching hepatitis, a potentially dangerous inflammation of the liver that can lead to serious conditions like cirrhosis and liver cancer. Our primary goal is to study strains of hepatitis B virus (HBV) found in Africa and how they induce liver disease. Our studies show that African HBV strains differ significantly from those in other parts of the world. “At the HVDRU, our motto is simple: […]
Frontiers news
25 Oct 2023
Author: Niamh Bothwell Dr Camilla Røstvik is an associate professor of history at the University of Agder in Norway, an honorary lecturer in the School of Medicine and the School of Art History at Aberdeen, and an honorary research fellow in art history at the University of St Andrews. She is also principal investigator (PI) on the Wellcome Trust-funded Menstruation Research Network and co-PI on the Royal Society of Edinburgh-funded Ending Period Poverty project. In alignment with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 1, which aims to eradicate all poverty everywhere, we explore Camilla’s efforts to raise awareness about menstruation in art history, highlighting the necessary evolution required to effectively combat period poverty. Photo credit: Jo Hanley To paint the scene for readers, can you tell us more about your work and how it all started? “I’m an art historian and I work on the visual cultures of menstruation, which includes everything from products and advertising to art and medicine. I’ve always been curious about menstruation, but I was not satisfied with the information I got when I was younger. It was all very traditionally scientific; there was no pleasant mystery or joy in it. It was just focused on pain and […]
Frontiers news
11 Oct 2023
Author: Catherine Rawlinson Dr Barbara Burlingame is a professor at Massey University, New Zealand. Her research predominantly focuses on nutrition science, and she is also involved in nutrition policy research at the global level. In relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger, I spoke to Barbara about how her research over the years has contributed to nutrition policy and how this relates to providing sustainable diets for all. Photo credit: Barbara Burlingame Could you start by giving me an overview of your main areas of research? “At the moment, my main areas cover food composition, biodiversity for food and nutrition, human nutrient requirements, dietary assessments, and sustainable diets. Within sustainable diets, a large area of my work involves traditional food knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples.” Some of your most recent work covers traditional food systems of Pacific Island countries. What can we learn from traditional systems to help sustain us for the future? “We can learn so much about nutrition and environmental sustainability from the traditional food and knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples. We are also documenting the tragedy of the erosion of these systems through multiple factors, chief of which are climate change and the […]
Frontiers news
29 Sep 2023
Author: Leticia Nani Silva How do you say goodbye to your biggest achievement? For three years, Frontiers’ Women in Science blog has been my pride and joy, my biggest accomplishment, my success story. It’s now time to pass it to the next coordinators, who have been here since day one, Carolina Capelo Garcia and Thimedi Hetti. Photo credit: Frontiers The Women in Science blog was born from a spontaneous idea back in 2019, when life was very different, and Zoom was still practically unheard of within our company. As a young, recent graduate woman figuring out my place in the company and in the world of science, I was determined to make a mark and work collaboratively with other like-minded scientists to drive more women into STEM. The idea turned into a long-term project, and in 2021, we produced 18 articles showcasing the work and experiences of these brilliant women and sponsored the HBA Women of the Year Conference. Harnessing the success of the year before, we built on our expertise. In 2022, we grew the team of writers to 16 and set out to encourage more women to join our blog and share their story. We curated our interviews […]
Frontiers news
11 Sep 2023
Author: Leticia Nani Silva Dr Lucia Baldino is a researcher in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Salerno, Italy. Her work focuses on optimizing production processes and designing innovative methods for the development of nanomaterials applied to pharmaceutical, medical, food, and cosmetic fields. Her contribution to her field has made her stand out amongst her community and this is why we have chosen her to represent United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9, which focuses on innovation, industry, and infrastructure. In this interview, we highlight the importance of working collaboratively with scientists across the world on innovating traditional methods used within science. We discuss how these innovative methods can aid in discovering new models of drug delivery and applications in the medical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic fields. We conclude our conversation by highlighting the changes that need to happen within the field of engineering, and how working together as a community will drive us further into a sustainable future. Photo credit: Raffaele Longobardi We start our conversation by discussing Dr Baldino’s work and how it focuses on innovative and sustainable processes assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide to produce several bio-products, such as aerogels, micro- and nanoparticles. Her work also […]
Frontiers news
17 Aug 2023
Authors: Rose Gordon-Orr and Carolina Capelo Garcia Natalia Kucirkova is a professor at the University of Stavanger in Norway and The Open University in the UK. She also holds the position of visiting professor at University College London (UCL), UK, and acts as the chair of the International Collective of Children’s Digital Books. Loleta Fahad serves as the head of Career Development in Organizational Development at University College London (UCL), UK. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the management, development, and implementation of resources that facilitate the ongoing growth, advancement, and retention of professional staff at UCL. Natalia and Loleta’s collaboration culminated in their published work, Inspirational Women in Academia: Supporting Careers and Improving Minority Representation (2022). Bringing together their lived experiences working within symbiotic areas of academia, they amplified the voices of academic women, and celebrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reducing inequalities within and among countries, we sat down with them to listen and amplify theirs. Photo credit: Natalia Kucirkova As part of your book, Inspirational Women in Academia; Supporting Careers and Improving Minority Representation you interviewed top-performing female academics about their experiences. How would you summarize your main findings across all the women’s […]
Frontiers news
17 Jul 2023
Author: Emma Phipps Dr Ivana Dusparic is an associate professor at the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, where her research predominantly focuses on the AI-based optimization of resources in large-scale urban infrastructures. In honor of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11, I spoke to Ivana about how her research contributes to making cities and human settlements safe and sustainable. Photo credit: Ivana Dusparic Could you start by giving us an overview of your main areas of research? “I’m a computer scientist. I studied applied mathematics and computer science at the undergraduate level and my master’s and PhD were both in computer science. Although the fundamental work I do is very computer science-oriented, I believe it can be a lot more useful when applied to real-life situations. That’s where the application to sustainability through management of large-scale infrastructures in cities came about. “My main research area is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) called ‘reinforcement learning,’ which stems from psychology and neuroscience. It works in the same way as how humans and animals learn: we do something; we don’t know if it’s good or bad; and then we observe the outcome in the environment, […]
Frontiers news
26 Jun 2023
Author: Sorcha Brennan Kate Soper is emerita professor of philosophy and a former researcher with the Institute for the Study of European Transformations at London Metropolitan University. She had a long association with Radical Philosophy and was a regular columnist for the US-based journal, Capitalism, Nature, Socialism. She has also been an editorial collective member and writer for New Left Review. She is a translator, among others, of Sebastiano Timpanaro, Noberto Bobbio, Michel Foucault, Cornelius Castoriadis, and Carlo Ginzburg. Her own books include: On Human Needs: open and closed theories in a Marxist Perspective; Humanism and Anti-Humanism; Troubled Pleasures: Writings on Politics, Gender and Hedonism; What is Nature? Culture, Politics and the Non-Human. She has been involved in a number of research projects on climate change and sustainable consumption, most recently as a Visiting Fellow at the Dubendorf Institute, Lund University, Sweden. Her most recent book is Post-Growth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism. Photo credit: Jo Mortimer You have written and published on the theory of need and environmental philosophy for many years. Your 2020 book Postgrowth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism published by Verso is an intersectional continuation of these themes. How has your past scholarship and formation as a researcher led you to this juncture of post-consumption and the politics of pleasure? “Well, the most immediate impetus […]
Frontiers news
12 Jun 2023
By Thimedi Hetti Photo credit: Emily Darling The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water is about aiming to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. In honor of both SDG 14 and World Ocean Day this month, I spoke to Dr Sangeeta Mangubhai, principal consultant and research scientist at Talanoa Consulting. Sangeeta has a PhD in coral reef ecology with 25 years’ worth of experience working on environmental issues. Originally from Fiji, she has worked in Australia, East Africa, Indonesia, and the South Pacific on natural resource management, coastal fisheries, “blue foods”, payment for ecosystem services, value chains, gender, protected areas, environmental policy, disaster, and climate change. Sangeeta is a 2018 Pew Fellow working on mainstreaming gender and human rights-based approaches into coastal fisheries in Melanesia. What was it like growing up in Fiji? “We spent a lot of time in nature, enjoying the outdoors with family and friends. It’s fascinating to think back to a time without TV or social media, when life was much simpler in Fiji. We spent a lot of time swimming in the sea. As a special treat, my dad would take us out snorkeling. We […]
Frontiers news
16 May 2023
Author: Lucy Thompson Abigail Watson is a research fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), contributing to the institute’s work on peace and security. At GPPi, she is part of the core team for the Stabilization Lab project, exploring stabilization programs and policy. Before joining GPPi, Abi was a conflict and security policy coordinator at Saferworld. She also co-hosted the WarPod podcast. Today, we discuss Abigail’s journey into policy research, her work in conflict resolution, and the importance of representation in policymaking. Photo credit: Abigail Watson What was your inspiration that led you to your current role? “I studied politics at the University of York, and during my degree I had the opportunity to study in the US for a term. I found there was quite a shift in the curriculum while in the US. The focus was much more on conflict, and it opened my eyes to this whole area of politics I felt we weren’t really discussing in a practical way in the UK. During my studies in the US, I was learning alongside a lot of former practitioners, lawyers, and officials actually working within the contexts we were studying. This not only deepened my interest in […]
Frontiers news
24 Apr 2023
Author: Sorcha Brennan Professor Jayati Ghosh taught economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi for nearly 35 years, and since January 2021 she has been a Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has authored and/or edited 20 books and more than 200 scholarly articles. Recent publications include When Governments Fail: Covid-19 and the Economy, Informal Women Workers in the Global South, and Demonetisation Decoded.Jayati has advised governments and consulted for international organizations, including the International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). She is also a member of several international boards and commissions, including the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs and the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All. In March 2022, Jayati was appointed to the United Nations Secretary General’s High-level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, mandated to provide a vision for international cooperation to deal with current and future challenges. Photo credit: Jayati Ghosh Could […]
Frontiers news
24 Mar 2023
Author: Rafa Tasnim Dr Rachel E Schattman is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Maine School of Food and Agriculture, where she leads a group of graduate students and staff scientists in the Agroecology Lab. She is also a fellow with The George J Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and an associate of the University of Maine Climate Change Institute. Previously, Rachel served as a postdoctoral researcher at the United States Department of Agriculture Northeast Climate Hub, where her work focused on climate change and adaptation from agricultural perspectives, as well as designing curricula for adult learners. In this blog post, we will discuss accessibility to clean water and sanitation as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 through the lens of Rachel’s research expertise and perspectives on sustainable agriculture and climate change. Photo credit: Karrah Kwasnik What encouraged you to work towards sustainability, more specifically on climate change issues and sustainable agriculture? “I believe that climate change is the biggest threat to human and non-human communities and ecosystems around the world, and that the danger it poses to our ability to grow food is worthy of our close attention. I did not start […]
Frontiers news
10 Mar 2023
Author: Natasha Inskip Dr Anna Savage is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Central Florida. She previously completed her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. Recently, Anna has taken on the role of Specialty Chief Editor within the Behavior, Evolution, and Ecology section of Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15 Life on Land is about aiming to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. In this blog, we will explore how Anna’s important work contributes to this goal. Photo credit: Erin Brosnan Could you start by running us through your expertise and your main areas of research interest? “My background is in evolutionary biology and I care a lot about conservation of amphibians. Most of us know that they’re facing massive global declines and it’s been a conservation issue that was first in the news when I was a kid in the 1990s. That was a motivator that drove me to become a scientist from the start. “As I became more […]
Featured news
10 Feb 2023
By Katharina StockDr Kelly Thompson is the Director of Research Operations at the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District in Western Sydney and an active researcher at The George Institute for Global Health. Having led the Global Women’s Health program at The George Institute as Program Manager, Kelly has more than five years of experience overseeing research on the health of women across the lifespan. Her personal research looks at critical infections and sepsis through an epidemiological lens with a focus on health equity and women’s health. Kelly and I discuss the role of reporting on sex and gender differences in disease, the importance of language when talking about these differences, and what is needed to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5.Kelly is currently serving as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Global Women’s Health. Photo credit: The George Institute for Global Health What made you want to pursue public health research, particularly focusing on health equity? “I started in clinical nursing in intensive care and loved it. Clinical nursing felt like a bit of a calling to me because of the focus on helping people, though eventually I wanted to have an impact on a larger scale. Fundamentally, […]
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